What does DJ Seinfeld think of the ‘lo-fi house movement’?

What I am doing is nothing really that new, it exists within an already established paradigm of dance music and so the only thing I hope for is perhaps identifying myself within that framework.”

DJ Seinfeld is spearheading the Lo-Fi House movement at the moment after coming off of some massively successful releases such as ‘U’, ‘Time Spent’ and his most recent track ‘Feel Da Bum Slap’. Jake Dodd caught up with the Swede ahead of his highly anticipated set in Hangar on January 14.

Q. What got you into making music?

A. It just felt as a natural progression from having been surrounded by a musical family and upbringing. I was classically schooled so it took some time before I moved into electronic music, and one day I downloaded Ableton and started to give it a go.

Q. What is the secret to making these tracks so perfectly distorted? Do you use a similar technique to Mall Grab where he plays them through his old Fender Strati-caster amp which creates this distorted cover of the track?

A. I have a few plugins that can create some interesting textures, and I like playing around with them almost like a puzzle. I don’t have any amplifiers like that.

Q. You are seen alongside artists like DJ Boring and others as being at the forefront of the Lo-Fi House movement, what attracted you to the sound?

A. I mean in my mind Lo-fi (or raw, distorted house) has been around for decades, it has taken different shapes and forms and there are numerous artists before me that deserve credit for pioneering it. To name a few, just look at L.I.E.S. Records, Bunker Records, Clone, the Chicago and Detroit guys, etc etc.

What I am doing is nothing really that new, it exists within an already established paradigm of dance music and so the only thing I hope for is perhaps identifying myself within that framework.

As with most forms of music, it is cyclical and now with what some call the Lofi-movement, it is another variation of it. I don’t know why I have been drawn to it so much, it feels natural and I am happy to leave it as that.

Q. Were you making anything else before Lo-Fi?

A. Yeah I’ve made loads of different kinds of music, to be honest I’m not sure on how to classify most of it (and don’t think I want to) but I have a few aliases going for the different styles.

I never think of making something lo-fi or non-lo-fi before I start a project, if it happens it’s a spur of the moment kind of thing.

Q. Being born in Sweden, but currently located in Barcelona, how does your background, upbringing and current location influence on your productions?

A. Its all part of the story in a way. I’m never sure on how these things work, but yeah 2016 in particular was an intense and emotionally draining year. I didn’t feel I was capable of processing it all and deal with my academic responsibilities at the same time, so for weeks I would just sit in my room and watch Seinfeld the TV show.

It became like a bubble for me to escape to. That’s the reason for the name really, like a natural extension of what was going on for me; going back and forth between ugly math proofs, Kramer escapades and Ableton sessions late into the night.

Q. So what is your real take on the Lo-Fi sound ?

A. Some amazing artists are emerging from this little movement at the moment, and I think we should be happy and encouraging of that. As with any genre, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to fit a certain aesthetic and putting out quite formulaic stuff, but I think there’s plenty of other interesting stuff out there at the moment for listeners to focus on.

Q. I’m very excited to see you play in Dublin for the first time on the January 14. What are you expectations of the city?

A. To be honest I have never experienced this kind of excitement for something I am involved in. I’ve had loads of Irish people send me beautiful messages and requests to come and play and just judging from the Facebook event it is probably going to be a very, very special night.

Q. Your young DJing & production career is just at the beginning yet you’ve come off a massive year, have you achieved everything you set yourself out to?

A. So far I am very happy with everything, it’s been an exciting couple of months lately, and even though I didn’t set any goals for my music (and I don’t think I ever will), I feel more than happy with how things have gone so far.

Q. What is your goal for 2017 ?

A. Make more music, making more friends, basically. I have three EPs and an album done and dusted, and another two or three in the works, so there is plenty of things coming, Jake!

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